How to make Princess Zelda Armor : Crown

If you have been researching online to find different ways to make faux armor you will find that craft foam is an extremely easy and cheap way to create realistic looking armor. Is it lightweight and comfortable to wear.
This is the step-by-step process on how to make Princess Zelda Armor. Please understand that is my personal vision of what the armor should look like. As with all of my anime & video game costumes, I put my personal details to make it unique. This pattern is not 100% accurate to the game design. If you are looking to make a exact replica please feel free to draft your own pattern!

If you would like to use my pattern, you can purchase it on my Esty Store (this includes the pattern for Pauldrons, Crown, & Belt). If you would like to use my pattern, you can purchase it for USD $9.99 (this includes the pattern for Pauldrons, Crown, & Belt). The pattern (11 pages) you can print out on standard 8.5 x 11 inch paper. The patterns comes only in one size.

 

 

 

You will need these items to make the crown:

• Craft Foam – 3 sheets, 12″ X 18″,  2mm thick
• Hot Glue Sticks
• Hot Glue Gun
• Elmer’s Glue
• Scissors
• 12 gauge wire
• 1 Blue Medium Tear-shaped Gem
• 1 Blue Medium Triangle-shaped Gem
• Gold Acrylic Paint
• Black Acrylic Paint
• Gold Spray Paint
• Paint Brushes (Foam & Detail Brushes)
• Pen or Mechanical Pencil
• Patience

Where I bought my supplies -

12 gauge wire – Home Depot

Gems - Bohemian Crystal

Craft Foam Sheets,  2mm thick, Hot Glue Sticks, Hot Glue Gun, Elmer’s Glue, Scissors, Gold Acrylic Paint, Black Acrylic Paint, Gold Spray Paint, Paint Brushes (Foam & Detail Brushes), Pen or Mechanical Pencil - Michaels

The Process:

1. Print the PDF file “Crown”
2. Cut out pattern.
3. Lay the pattern on top of the craft foam sheets and trace around shapes, then cut them out.
4. Measure out the circumference of your head. Add about 4 inches to the length and cut a strip of wire in that size.
5. Shape the wire around your head then twist the excess together at the back.
6. Bend the excess wire pointing up. This will serve as a base to glue the back panel to.
7. Cut a thin strip of craft foam to glue to the inside and outside of your crown. The goal here is to create a nice padding on the inside to protect your head from discomfort and a form to glue the details to on the outside.
8. Hot glue the leaves together as depicted on the pattern.
9. Squeeze a line of hot glue in the middle backside of each leaf. This will help renforce the shape.
10. Trim each leaf cutting the edges to meet smoothy.
11. Using your hot glue, squeeze out lines to create veins on top of the leaves. (You might want to practice on a scrap piece to get the hang of it)
12. For the back panel, attach each side with hot glue, using the guide where the arrows meet depicted on the pattern.
13. Trim the the edges so that the seams blend smoothy.
14. Reinforce the shape by squeezing lines of hot glue in the back seams.
15. To create the bevelled edge, draw a line down the center back using a pencil. Place a bead of hot glue and fold together, then hold until it is dry.
16. Cover each piece with Elmer’s glue & let dry. This will give the acrylic paint a good base to stick to.
17. The smaller sidewards C shape piece called “Front Crown Detail”  is glued top of the T shaped “Front Crown” piece. After these two pieces are glued together I pressed a line with a pencil down the middle.
18. Paint all the pieces with the gold acrylic paint. It is up to you how many layers you would like to have and how distressed you want your crown to look. In my example photos, I first did a layer in gold acrylic, then painted all the crevices in black acrylic, then did a light dusting of gold spray paint to give it a bit of metallic shine, thennnnn went over it all again with another layer of gold acrylic paint. It takes a good amount of time, but the more details you put into it, the more dimension your armor will have.
19. Hot glue your gems in place, then set the large gem by hot gluing the foam detail pieces over it. Paint around the setting in black acrylic to give it more depth.
20. Glue all the pieces to the wire frame (Front panel, leaves large to small, branch, then back panel). Refer to the sketch on the crown pattern for placement order.
21. All Done!! One last tip about craft foam: If you ever feel like it is not the right shape you can warm it with a hair dyer to shape it. Heat it until it is super bendy, then hold it in that shape until it cools.